High in the trees the morning zephyr was trickling through the leaves at a slow pace, while the birds were twittering away as Lenore was quietly getting dressed for the day ahead. Turning to peer at her sleeping fiancé the young woman rolled her eyes softly and went to wake him up, being careful not to get too close and put herself in danger of being groped unrepentantly.
"Wakey, wakey." she murmured, crouching to pull at the long tresses of Madara's ebony hair. "C'mon, sleeping beauty, it's time to get up." she uttered in a sing-song fashion, her face settling when she found his hand appear to start groping it.
At first he seemed confused, his eyes drifting open as his arm shifted away to see what he had been fondling.
"You wont get me again." Lenore informed him, standing up to go find him something to wear. Squeaking she stiffened when he grabbed her behind, her body spinning on her heel to confront him.
"Got you." he murmured in a sleepy manner, dipping his arm and head back underneath the covers to avoid his vest top being thrown at him.
After some convincing the Uchiha had finally gotten out of bed to get ready, the room remaining quiet until Lenore finally spoke up from her position on the edge of the bed.
"Good luck on your mission." Lenore spoke, watching Madara get the last of his things ready at the side of their bedroom closet. "You'll be home for dinner, wont you?" the Uchiha asked, while he simply paused.
"Dinner, I almost forgot." he spoke in a hush manner, turning his attention towards her. "Lenore, I forgot to tell you something." he stated, slipping another kunai into the pouch on his hip.
"What?" she anticipated, raising her eyebrow.
"Now, promise you wont get mad." Madara then spoke, painfully dragging out this 'forgotten' piece of information.
"Oh, go ahead, nothing you can say will upset me this morning. I'm in a good mood, and I'm going to stay that way all day long." the ebony haired woman informed him gently, smiling a little.
"I invited father to have dinner with us." he finally spoke in as quick a voice as he could.
"Well, that was a short day." Lenore bluntly stated, her smile dropping.
Frowning the leader's son came that little bit closer, hoping to reason with her the best he could.
"Now, Lenore, you promised you wouldn't get mad." Madara protested softly.
"I'm not mad," she sighed, "but your father had dinner with us just two days ago." she huffed.
"That was two weeks ago!" he corrected her, raising his voice ever so slightly in disbelief.
"How time flies." she murmured, slipping off the bed to stand just a foot shorter than him.
"Honestly, Lenore, you're being unfair. He's coming over to have dinner with us so why don't you just be nice to him?" he requested, frowning in an almost enticing fashion.
"Okay, Spot, I'll be nice to him." she sighed softly, smiling up at him. "I'll feed the hand that bites me." she chuckled, shooing him out the bedroom door when he tried to lay his lips onto hers. "You'll be late if you stay any longer." she told him, waving softly in a teasing fashion when he gave her a momentary glance of disappointment.
Later that evening Lenore sat with Madara and his father, Tajima, the trio remaining as silent as ever as both Lenore and her father-in-law tried not to let their bitter conflict ruin the nice evening.
"More horenso, father?" she offered, holding the bowl out towards him in an act of peace.
"Thank you, Lenore." he spoke, taking it from her to set some down on his plate.
"Madara, do you want some horenso?" Lenore then asked her fiancé, who was sitting directly opposite her around the small shin height table.
"No, I'm alright." the Uchiha protégé answered, giving the bowl a minor look of distaste.
"But Madara, son," his father spoke, sipping from his cup as Lenore slowly hitched her eyebrow. "you should eat your vegetables." his father informed him.
"But I don't like horenso." the Uchiha protested softly.
Tutting his father gave him a hard look for a moment, Madara was too old to be fussy.
"We must all eat a well balanced meal to keep our strengths up. After all, food is the fuel and your body is the furnace." Tajima explained, trying to be as wise as he thought he was.
"Yeah, but Madara's furnace's turned into a pot-bellied stove." Lenore piped up, hiding her smirking lips behind her slightly curled index finger. Slowly his father turned to look at Lenore, while Madara gave her a look that could churn milk into yogurt.
"I must say, Lenore, I don't think Madara is overweight at all. In fact I think he's been looking a little thin and under nourished lately." her father-in-law informed her, while Lenore could do nothing else but whisper 'oh, here it comes'. "Have you been getting enough to eat, son?" Tajima enquired, turning his attention back to him.
"Of course." Madara uttered.
"Well, you don't look it to me, kiddo." his father went on, while Lenore simply rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, father, 'kiddo' gets his pabulum every three hours." she coyly responded, watching his father's eyelids narrow.
Hearing the servant come in the table soon went quiet once more, the young woman bringing a tray over to stop beside Lenore and speak.
"Coffee anyone?" she enquired when she assumed it was safe to speak.
"Not for Madara, it keeps him awake and you know he needs his beauty sleep." his father informed the help, a short nod bobbing their head before they turned their attention to Lenore.
"Coffee, M'am?" she asked, while the young woman just lowered her shoulders.
"No, thank you. It'll keep me awake, and you know I need my ugly nap." the Uchiha informed her, the servant nodding once more as she turned to bring the coffee back into the kitchen nearby.
"Alright, Lenore, settle down." Madara murmured, putting another small inarizushi into his mouth.
After another few minutes of silence Tajima finally spoke, his eyes drifting onto his son once more.
"About Monday evening, two weeks from now, what are you doing about your birthday celebration?" the Uchiha asked, while Madara continued playing with his spinach.
"What I usually do, probably. Invite close friends, spar with a few of the stronger guests, open presents and then go see a few stri-" he stated, cutting himself off at the last second as Lenore's gaze began to narrow. "Striped fireworks." he quickly corrected himself, his father blinking. "I think fireworks would be an interesting way to end the evening this time." the Uchiha uttered.
"It would need to go out with a 'bang', wouldn't it?" Lenore commented sarcastically, gaining her father-in-laws attention again.
He seemed to contemplate his next choice words carefully, the very thing making the woman stiffen internally.
"Do you have any idea what you'll get Madara for this birthday?" his father asked, the minor questioning making the woman sigh with relief invisibly.
"Not yet, no. I'm not sure I've the money to get anything fancy." she uttered gingerly, while he simply smirked a little.
"That's alright, I'm sure you can make him something for his birthday." he chuckled, gaining a small smirk from Madara.
"Could you imagine Lenore making me a birthday present?" he asked, while Lenore's eyes began to slit.
"Well, let's all have a big laugh, it's good for the digestion. Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha." she responded bluntly, not even remotely amused by the subject of conversation as much as they were.
Gaining their composure Madara was the first to speak, his amused smile still in place.
"Now Lenore, you have to admit that is a pretty funny idea." he tried to reason with her, but her frown remained in place.
"I fail to see what's so funny about it. I could make you a birthday present." she protested.
"Of course you could, if you knew how." his father replied this time, causing Lenore's frown to intensify.
"Well, I do know how to make things." the Uchiha protested.
"Lenore, why don't I just give you money and you can go buy me something." Madara offered, while Lenore's face seemed to falter.
Thinking about it for a moment she then responded softly.
"Well, with only two weeks to make you something I guess-" she went to say, getting cut off by his father.
"Since Lenore has failed you on your birthday why don't you let me have someone pick out a present for her." his father offered, while the woman simply huffed.
"That does it, I'm going to make you a present!" she snapped, while her fiancé lowered his drink.
"Oh, come on, Lenore." he spoke, while his father began to grin.
"I'd like to see it when you're done." he brashly stated, unable to hold back the laugh that was trickling out from between his lips.
"Go ahead, laugh, I'll show you. I'll make Madara a birthday present, and it will be the best, the nicest, the most wonderful present you ever get!" she protested, only making the pair laugh even louder.
Early that next morning Lenore came scuttling in with Madara's breakfast, his ebony eyes darting to the food hungrily.
"This looks good." he spoke, picking up some of the food to take a bite before recoiling his head. "These eggs are stone cold." he gasped, while Lenore gave the food a dissatisfied glance.
"They are?" she asked, pouting.
"But how did they get so cold, when did you cook them?" the Uchiha protégé enquired, poking his food softly.
"Last night." she answered, causing his eyes to widen.
"Last night?!" he exasperated gently, tilting his head up to look at her.
"Well I'm going to be so busy making you a birthday present that I cooked your breakfast last night and quick froze it." she answered, causing Madara to growl in frustration.
Regaining his composure Madara examined her for a moment, his features softening.
"Lenore, are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked, while she put her hand up to stop him trying to convince her to change her mind.
"I can handle this, don't you worry." she uttered, smiling brightly in such a way that it put him at ease.
"So, what are you making me?" the Uchiha asked, while she simply shook her head.
"It's a surprise." she informed him, a curious smile coming over his features.
"Well, give me a clue." he uttered, pulling her closer to nuzzle the end of his nose into the top of her head.
"Oh, okay. It's big…" she began, a small 'mhm' coming from his lips. "And it's small.." she continued, receiving a confused grunt from him. "It also has long shaggy hair, has three wheels, takes out ink-splotches and runs eight days without winding." she described, causing a rather disgruntled expression to crop up on his face.
"That's what my father gave me on my last birthday." he protested, while she simply giggled.
Squeezing her against his side softly Madara hummed into her ebony tresses, his eyelids closing halfway.
"Well, I'll tell you this much. I bought some materials and put them in the bedroom closet, so I want you to stay out of there, okay?" she requested, feeling him nod with his cheek rubbing against her.
"Okay." he spoke, rather disappointed.
"Well, I'm going to get started on your present." she uttered, getting up from the bed Madara was perched on to leave.
Getting up the Uchiha put the plate onto the nightstand and began staring aimlessly at the bedroom closet, his ears faintly picking up the small voice of his brother, Izuna, as he greeted Lenore and came into the room to see his brother.
"Brother… Brother?" he spoke, trying to gain his attention. "Why are you standing there staring at that closet?" he enquired, giving his brother a worried look.
"Lenore told me my present was in her bedroom closet, and then made me promise I'd leave it alone. Only a woman could think of a mean thing like that." Madara finally answered, pouting gently.
Blinking his younger brother examined him and then the closet once more.
"What are you going to do about it?" he dared to ask, his brother raising his eyebrow.
"Absolutely nothing." he stated bluntly, his brother coming a little closer.
"And then what?" he asked sceptically, knowing full well Madara was not about to let a mystery that was for him go unsolved. As suspected his eyebrow drifted up one side of his forehead, a devious smirk curling up the corner of his lips.
"Izuna, you wont find me stooping to snooping." he answered, trying to sound as innocent as he could.
"I'm sure I wont." his younger sibling responded, gazing at him suspiciously.
"Of course, if there 'happened' to be something in there Lenore needed I'd have to look in the closet, wouldn't I?" he asked, leaning to the side to be closer to his brother. "Huh?" he enquired suggestively.
"Well, I suppose so." the ebony haired teen answered.
"What's in there that Lenore might need?" Madara questioned, glancing around.
"Well, there's her.. umbrella? But the sun is shining." Izuna offered as an answer, watching Madara put his hand up as he went towards the balcony.
"Oh, how do you like that, it suddenly looks like rain." the mischievous Uchiha stated abruptly.
"It has seemed to have clouded up a little, hasn't it?" his brother uttered, following him to peep up at the sky.
Scuttling off towards the closet Madara slid open the door as Izuna turned to come have a look with him, beginning to wish he had not gotten involved in his brothers antics.
"Oh, there's Lenore's umbrella, right behind this big, wrapped up parcel." he stated, picking it up to put on top of the bed. "And look, there's a little tear in the paper." he gasped, while Izuna scanned it over with an air of confusion.
"Where?" he asked, watching as Madara slowly began to tear the once perfect paper on top of the box, smirking as he did so.
"There." he answered finally in a blunt tone of voice, giving his brother a cunning glance as Izuna returned the look with a studious stare. "Oh, clumsy me." he suddenly gasped, leaning back. "Well, now that it's open I guess there's no turning back." he uttered, beginning to tear at the wrapping paper like an excited kid. "Oh, I wonder what it is. I bet she's trying to make that sculpture of me I was hinting at." he spoke, finally able to take off the lid and look inside.
Lifting away the lid Madara soon stilled and gave the box a scrutinising stare.
"It's empty, there's nothing in this box." he uttered, rather disappointed.
"Oh… Yes there is, at the bottom of the box, there's a card." Izuna answered, rather disappointed to see nothing there himself.
"Oh yeah, let's see what it says." he murmured, picking it up turn it over and have a look. "Well, I like that." Madara soon spoke, scowling at the card.
"What's it say?" the ebony haired teen enquired, blinking softly.
"It says 'I thought I told you to stay out of here, nosey'." he stated, his younger brother's silence broken by heavy laughter.
"Well, that settles it. Whatever Lenore's getting me for my birthday's going to be set on fire." he huffed, frowning bitterly.
Elsewhere the young Uchiha was at work pacing around the castle, her ebony eyes darting to the eldest of the Senju siblings, Hashirama, when she came around another corner and found him there. Heading over to him they greeted each other with a glance, a smile coming across his face as she spoke.
"Hashirama, do you have any idea what everyone else is getting Madara for his birthday?" Lenore asked in a low voice.
"No, not really." he answered, giving her a curious stare.
"Oh darn, I've got to find out." Lenore huffed, sitting down on the bench beside him.
"Why?" he asked, hitching his eyebrow.
"Well, I'm knitting Madara a sweater, and if people are going to knock themselves out getting him some really expensive presents maybe a measly sweater isn't enough to give him." Lenore explained, sighing softly.
"I see." he answered, observing her.
"On the other hand, if they're going to give him some dinky little things why should I knock myself out making him a beautiful sweater?" she asked, causing him to smirk softly.
Chuckling the Senju leaned back, the Uchiha continuing.
"I know it's the thought behind the gift that counts, I'm sure it doesn't make any difference to Madara what kind of a fur coat his guests will give him." she explained, causing Hashirama to chuckle a little more.
"Well, I'm afraid I can't help you." he uttered, while she pouted softly and got up.
"Oh well, I guess there's nothing I can do but give him his sweater and hope he likes it." Lenore sighed, waving goodbye to the Senju before wandering off.
Back in a small, remote part of the house Lenore had began to set her mind upon making the sweater, a stiff look upon her face as she did so.
"Pearl one, knit two, whoops! Oh, I dropped a stitch, oh dear.. Well, I can just save it if I put my needle through this loo- whoops! Oh, there goes another." she sighed, continuing to work. "Oh, well I guess I should of pulled this through- whoops! Oh, well, I was gonna do that row over again anyway. Darn it, this is slow work." Lenore huffed, hearing the door open nearby.
Hiding away her knitting utensils Lenore observed Izuna, who paused upon finding her here. He had thought he was the only one who knew of this place, but he supposed he did not mind that it was only Lenore skulking around here.
"Oh, here you are Lenore, I was wondering where you had put yourself to avoid Madara." he spoke, observing her as she got out her knitting needles to pull out the row and start over with a frown.
"I'm having an awful time with this sweater I'm knitting for Madara." she finally replied, pausing to gaze up at him softly.
"Is that a sweater?" the young Uchiha enquired, blinking gently.
"Well what does it look like?" Lenore responded, lifting it up slightly to show him.
"That's a very good question." Izuna answered, staring at the mound of woven wool.
Sighing Lenore put it back down on her lap and picked up a book near to her that she had borrowed from the family library, a soft pout coming over her lips.
"Oh, I know it's a mess, Izuna. I just can't understand it, I followed the directions exactly." the female explained, showing him the page she was on.
"Well, let's see." he spoke, picking it up to have a look. "What's this thing sticking up here? It looks like a sock." the brother stated, while Lenore gave him a placid stare.
"It is." she answered.
"Is it?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows in confusion.
"Yeah, the directions said 'pearl three inches and then knit a foot'." she uttered, quoting the book, to which Izuna remained quiet for a moment.
"Lenore, it didn't mean that." Izuna stated, pursing his lips together to give her a flat stare.
"I thought it seemed odd, I thought I was maybe knitting socks to match the jumper, and that I could cut them loose later." she explained, trying to give him a weak smile.
"I see… Well, the rest of it looks- Wait, what's this hole for?" he asked, picking it up by the scruff.
"That's the neck." Lenore answered.
"Oh. Then what's this other hole for?" he enquired, picking up the other one.
Hesitantly Lenore laughed, her eyes lolling over the jumper.
"Would you look at that, I've left two openings for his head." she murmured, smiling at Izuna while he gave her a simple look.
"Lenore, I think you'll have to rip it all out and start again." he uttered, handing it back to her.
"No, it's a shame to waste all that hard work." Lenore refused, petting the folded up mesh of fabric. "I ought to give it to someone." she murmured, examining it thoughtfully. "Do you know anyone with two heads, Izuna?" she enquired, lifting her head up to look at him.
"Not off hand." he answered, causing her to pout for a moment then gasp.
"Oh, I know. I'll knit a belt on the other end of it and Madara can wear them for trousers." she suggested, smiling brightly up at him. "No?" she then asked, seeing him give her a placid stare.
"No." he stated firmly, causing her to grunt.
"Bah, I'm not good at this. I wish I could knit like my mother could, she wouldn't even look at it and it would come out just perfectly." Lenore sighed, tugging at the intertwined strands of woven wool.
Watching Izuna go sit somewhere else in the room and read quietly to himself Lenore went back to work once more, her eyes drooping as she watched the needles twitch away in her hands. Hearing someone's voice Lenore and Izuna both lifted their heads, a curious expression passing over her features when her brother-in-law stood up.
"I forgot to tell you, my father said he would come looking for you this morning." he belatedly informed her, watching the young woman settle in her seat.
"Oh keen." she grumbled, frowning down at her knitting. "I wonder what Nosey-Rosy wants." she them muttered, eyeing up Izuna questioningly.
"He didn't say." Izuna replied, just as in the dark as she was as to why their father was so interested in Lenore for once. "Maybe he's just coming to see how you are?" he suggested, causing Lenore to guffaw shortly.
"Ha! Your father never comes over just to visit." she stated stiffly, going back to knitting. "He comes looking for me just to see what I'm doing that I shouldn't be doing, what I'm not doing that I should be doing, and what I am doing that, if he were doing it, he would do it a lot better." Lenore swiftly stated, causing Izuna to roll his eyes.
"My father isn't that bad." he spoke firmly, observing the young woman.
Mumbling the young woman hissed when she dropped another switch, the frown on her face only increasing.
"Let's face the music, Izuna, he only lives to see how badly I keep Madara." she mumbled. "An unmade bed is like a transfusion to him, it gives him the strength to run his finger across a table and see if there's any dust there." she then went on to grumble, while the young teen just hummed.
"Well, he wont see any dust in this house. We have enough servants to keep it clean for us." he stated firmly, while Lenore just gave him a flat stare.
"Oh, you dreamer." she replied, gaining a frown from the young man. "No, you can't win with that guy, Izuna. Sometimes I think he has dirt tattooed to the end of his finger." she huffed, leaning even further into the seat.
Looking across her work she then decided to take off the last two rows and begin them yet again.
"Oh well, brooding about it isn't going to get this sweater finished." she spoke, lifting it a little closer towards herself.
"I don't think you'll have it complete before his birthday." Izuna uttered, watching her pull at the wool with an air of frustration around her.
"I'm sure Madara'll understand, I can give him what I have done by then and tell him I'll finish it later." she uttered, tilting her head back to gaze at the ceiling in thought.
"Lenore, are you in here?" came a new voice, causing both of them to still in surprise.
"Thar he blows." she snidely commented, narrowing her gaze.
"Look's like it's my father." he uttered, getting up from his seat.
"Of course it is, who else sneaks about? I think he knows if he didn't I'd pretend I wasn't here, the old-" she uttered, hearing the door open nearby. "In here, father!" she called, trying to force a smile upon her face.
Seeing his head poke around the corner Lenore waved gingerly, her foot kicking the box away from the seat as she hid away the sweater carefully. With Izuna now leaving the room Lenore found herself alone with him, the sort of situation she did not feel comfortable with.
"I just dropped by to see how you were coming with your present for Madara, Lenore." Tajima spoke, entering the room to see what she was up to.
"Oh, it's coming along fine." Lenore responded, hiding the present away.
"What are you making… if I'm not being too nosey?" he enquired, while her eyebrow slowly raised.
"You?… Nosey?" Lenore exaggerated, widening her eyes as he chuckled a little.
"Well, what are you making?" he asked curiously.
"I'm knitting him something." the Uchiha answered, causing him to blink.
"Really?" he enquired, while she simply frowned at him.
Examining her curiously from where he was standing he ignored the fact that Lenore was shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.
"Well, there's a sight I'd never see. Lenore Uchiha dusting." he stated, having spotted the jumper she was trying to hide. Quietly she turned her gaze towards the wool with a questioning expression, not quite sure what he meant until she realised he had seen her work poking out from behind her. Now she was less than pleased.
"I'm not dusting." she stated firmly.
"Then what is that dirty old dust-rag for?" he asked, examining the lump of black cloth curiously as she took it out from behind herself.
"This is a jumper I'm knitting." Lenore finally stated, her eyebrows lowering slightly.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't look very closely. Who's dog is it for?" he then asked, only frustrating Lenore more.
"Yours." she bluntly replied quietly, gaining a questioning expression from him.
"Pardon?" he asked, having not quite heard her clearly.
Giving him a good hard stare Lenore finally spoke, not quite sure she really wanted to tell him who the jumper was for.
"It's for Madara." she finally uttered, just anticipating the scrutiny she was about to get.
"For Madara?" he asked, beginning to laugh. "I could just die." he chuckled.
"Yes, but you wont." she answered, her face remaining expressionless.
"What?" he asked, having been too caught up in his own amusement to have heard her the first time. "I'm sorry, I've hurt your feelings, Lenore." he then spoke, seeing the annoyed expression on her face.
"How could you tell?" she asked stiffly, sitting up a little further in her seat. "Well, pull up a dust ball and sit with me then, father." she then offered, though he remained standing nonetheless.
Quietly Tajima had been processing the fact that she was making his son a jumper for his birthday, his eyebrow finally deciding to ping up his forehead in a sceptical fashion.
"Lenore, if I may make a suggestion, I wouldn't bother finishing that jumper for Madara." he spoke, while Lenore simply got up and crossed her arms.
"Oh, you would, would you?" she asked, rolling her eyes gently.
"Now Lenore, it's no disgrace not knowing how to knit. You have other talents." he quickly stated, catching her shift back on her heel and give him a soft but curious expression.
"I have?" she asked, not quite sure where he was going with this.
"You must have." he answered, making her frown once more. "I mean, some wives can knit, some wives can cook. Some wives are beautiful and some are intelligent." he listed off, only making the frown on Lenore's face intensify. "And you're, uh… You're, ehm… Hm…" he spoke, trying to think of something to label her as in the wife department.
Slowly Lenore tilted forward, her fingers tapping off her arms impatiently as he stammered on trying to think of something.
"Well, I should probably be going." he then uttered swiftly, seeing the irate expression on her face that he had been certain only Madara could pull off up until now.
"Are you being escorted, or should I call for a black broomstick to pick you up?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Now Lenore, you're being too sensitive. If I've said anything to upset you then it's just for your own good." the Uchiha spoke, watching her closely. "If I can't even make a simple suggestion what on earth am I here for?" the man asked, turning to examine her thoroughly.
"Oh, you're beginning to wonder too?" the woman asked, while he just frowned a little.
"I'm only trying to help you, Lenore. I don't want you to be embarrassed, you see Madara's grandmother is knitting him a beautiful cashmere jumper." he explained, seeing her expression slowly fade.
"She is?" she asked, somewhat put off by the idea of making the same present as someone else.
Nodding he gazed upon her saddened expression.
"Yes, and I don't want you to suffer though any comparisons." he uttered, taking a moment to wipe his finger across the top of a table and tut.
"What are you running your finger across that table for, forget where you parked your gum?" Lenore asked, looking him up and down.
"Would you look at my finger, it's just black with dust." he uttered, giving his hand a surprised gaze.
"Well, there's only one thing for you to do." Lenore sighed, gaining his attention.
"Talk to the head of the cleaning-nin?" he asked, while she just shook her head simply.
"No, wash your hands." she answered, causing his expression to grow stiff.
"That wont make this house any cleaner." he told her off.
"Yeah, but at least then it would keep you occupied for the rest of the day so you're not bothering me." the Uchiha shrugged.
Gaining an annoyed tut in response the man crossed his arms.
"Well, I wash my hands of the whole thing." the man stated, clearly displeased with her rude behaviour.
"Good." Lenore replied sharply, making him glare.
"Well, I certainly know when I'm not wanted." he snapped, bitterly looking down at her.
"Since when?" Lenore retorted bluntly, only making him angrier.
"Well!" he barked, twisting on his heel to leave. "Good afternoon, Lenore." he hissed through grit teeth.
"Must you rush off?" the Uchiha called after him sweetly.
"Well!" he shouted again, slamming open the door to storm off down the hall.
Groaning Lenore went back to her seat, a scowl still on her face as she picked up her knitted jumper and sat back down with a growl. A short while later Izuna wandered in, his ebony eyes observing her for a moment, his father had really gotten under her skin this time.
"Oh, Izuna. Your grandmother is knitting Madara a sweater too!" she protested softly, glaring at her work as he gasped a soft 'really?'. "I just have to finish my knitting and it has to be better than hers, give me my knitting needles." she exasperated, taking them to start working once more. "Knit one, pearl two, knit one, pearl two, knit one, pearl two, whoops!" she started chiming, getting to work as fast as she could.